ABSTRACT
Drawing on institutionalist political economy, this paper argues that education should be conceptualised as a foundational institutional determinant of health rather than a contextual socioeconomic factor. Utilising data from Scotland, which faces some of the most profound health challenges within Europe, this paper uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis to explore data at the intermediate zone level from two of its major cities, Dundee and Aberdeen, to explore education and training alongside work, income, access to health care, crime and housing, and relating them to a composite outcome measure of health. These results are then compared to those for Glasgow city, which is perhaps the most heavily-researched, in terms of health, in the UK. It finds deprivation in education and training to be a necessary condition in areas of poorer health, especially where income and housing deprivation also occur, a finding requiring an urgent policy response.